MADISON, Wis.
(AP) -- Wisconsin is losing 30,000 acres of farmland per year, but
the state's agricultural diversity has insulated it against
farming downtrends, according to a new report.

The study by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
found Wisconsin had nearly 24 million agricultural acres in 1950.
By 2005, that number had dropped to 15 million.

Nearly 60 percent of acres lost between 2000 and 2005 were in 19
counties, including counties near Minnesota's Twin Cities and
Wausau and between Madison and Milwaukee.

"Crops of houses where farms and forests used to be is nothing new
in Wisconsin," the report said. "Still, agriculture and forestry
are the principal land uses in the state. Is it too late to make a
difference? No. But ... pushing the resource to its limits before
acting is foolhardy."

Recommendations from last week's report to improve farming and
country living include a call for a statewide grant program. The
program would involve the purchase of 25-year easements on land -
or so-called purchases of development rights - that would prevent
development and establish agricultural enterprise areas with
farming clusters. Development would be prohibited within these
clusters for fixed periods of time.

The report found that Wisconsin agriculture revolves around a wide
range of animal and plant products, including milk, cheese, meats,
cherries, oats, corn and peas.

But farmers are also branching out into specialty operations, such
as making cheese or working organic farms, and the state's
agriculture is more resilient as a result, the report said.

The nonprofit academy spent more than two years studying multiple
aspects of rural life for the 240-page report.

The report also recommends rewarding development projects that
have small lots and retaining ample green space as well as
developing so-called farm and forestry ambassadors to educate
people about land preservation.

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau issued a statement Wednesday praising
the report, saying it will increase awareness of rural issues. The
report now goes to Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the state
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and
state lawmakers, Lyon said.

DATCP spokeswoman Donna Gilson said no one at the agency had seen
the report to comment on it.

The report, however, includes an essay by Nilsestuen in which he
reminisces about his Norwegian grandparents' farm in Arcadia and
laments the state's farmland losses.

Lyon said the committee that crafted the report hopes to solicit
money from farming and conservation groups, perhaps including the
farm bureau, 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin
Federation of Cooperatives, to put the recommendations in place.